Shelley is a musician, composer, public speaker, Montessori teacher and most importantly, a pancake-flipping mother of five. She studied at the University of British Columbia and graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in piano performance. Her endeavors to bring music into the classroom has been her passion since the day she graduated from Montessori training twenty years ago. Shelley developed training programs for Montessori teachers to learn some of the basics of music in rhythm, instruments, composers, and music history. She produced a simple music manual to help teachers with no formal musical training bring music into the daily classroom experience. Shelley composed three albums of beautiful music designed for use in the classroom. "Quick little songs to help little ears learn lickety-split". In 2008, Shelley came up with the idea of writing a song about peace and sharing it with the entire world so that children everywhere could sing together and Sing Peace Around the World was born.

Can a simple celebration about peace actually make a difference to the strife, hate and warfare happening across this planet? Can a song and a moment in time captured by three, four and five year olds singing about lighting candles change the direction of atrocities, bloodshed and human brutality? I say, unequivocally yes. Although only a simple melody, the song, Light a Candle for Peace, from which this whole event is centered, begins with lighting a candle for the universal attributes of peace and love. The call to action comes next when the song invites us all to light a candle for ourselves. "Light a candle for me" then I will light a candle for you. It must all begin, with ourselves. We must first find our own peace. Peace in our hearts and peace in our minds. Even and especially when we are young and just beginning to learn about this world we are going to be living in. Light a candle for me that I will see the good in others and not judge. Light a candle for me that I will not take more than I need, be gentle with those around me and spend my developing the good inside me. Light a candle for me that I will find peace in the simple andprofound. Violence is not just something happening over there in another part of the world. It is happening in our homes, our streets and our schools. There is no neighbourhood, city, country or continent that is immune to selfish and destructive behavior. Just as there is also no village, community or culture that doesn't benefit when just one person tries to make a difference for good. Everyone of us needs a gentle reminder that peace really begins with ourselves. Can spending a day with others who believe in the wish for world peace help. . .yes.

On September 21st tens of thousands of little children will sing together with their brothers and sisters around the world. The human family

Just as it is impossible to stop the ripples of water once a pebble has been dropped into the water the far reaching effects of children who have been taught tolerance, is impossible